PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — This winter, Wilmer Flores was among several Mets players who decided to spend a significant portion of their offseason in Michigan. He eschewed his native Venezuela for the freezing Midwest in the hope of self-improvement.

He arrived to the Mets spring training facility last month noticeably leaner, said to be more agile and having earned a new opportunity. Flores, 22, has been given a continuous opportunity to play shortstop.

In Flores, the Mets have an intriguing hitting prospect without a definitive position. He is viewed as a second baseman but that seems to be a nominal declaration. In his minor-league career, Flores has played at least 60 games in a season at three different positions — shortstop, second base and third base. Last season, during a 27-game spell in the majors, he played all but one at third base.

Mets manager Terry Collins has professed a desire to see him play in the middle of the infield. At 6-foot-3, Flores is newly lithe but his athleticism to play shortstop seems to be a question. It is one the organization is trying to answer this spring, giving him several starts at the position.

"I think the fact he went and got his lower body in such great shape this winter has helped him a little bit," Collins said. "He’s obviously a step quicker than he was. That’s quite obvious when you watch him run. He had a very good game (Tuesday) out there. He’s done a nice job defensively."

Flores is enjoying the chance to play the position as well. He spent his first four minor-league seasons at shortstop but has not played a game there since 2011, when he played 129 games for the Mets’ Class-A Port St. Lucieclub and committed 20 errors in 585 chances.

"Definitely," Flores said. "It’s always fun being out there. Just showing that I can play short."

He later adds: "I appreciate the opportunity I’m getting and they’ve given me, so I have to show them I can do it."

After having not played the position for nearly three years, Flores has had to readjust himself. There are new angles to play and a bigger range of field to cover, which means he must be able to get to more balls hit there. He calls both the harder parts of playing there again.

Still, he comes back to the position more equipped to be there as well. The offseason training program was of no small consequence and Flores believes it has helped him.

"It definitely worked," he said. "I can feel it."

This experimentation comes as Ruben Tejada, the Mets starting shortstop, has struggled this spring with just three hits in 25 at-bats and four errors. After a down 2013 season, Tejada is also under considerable scrutiny, though Flores has not paid attention to what his teammate is in the midst of.

"No, not really," he said. "He tries to do his job and I try to do my job."

Collins says that there are no unresolved questions with Tejada and the position, despite those struggles. As the Mets begin to tighten their roster for the regular season after a scheduled day off Wednesday, Tejada will receive heavy playing time next week.

Yet, even if Flores does not begin the season with the Mets, and he seems unlikely to with the club not wanting to have his progress stagnate by sitting on the bench, he will continue to play shortstop at Triple-A.

"I’d like him to make sure he plays a little shortstop," Collins said. "He needs to play second, that’s where he’s going to be playing. I’d like to keep him in the middle of the infield if we can, because we don’t know what’s going to happen. He needs to play both."